GOP Pulse: Slow Walking to 2012

Spring start looms for 2012 race
Republican presidential hopefuls are increasingly looking toward the end of March and beginning of April as the right moment to announce their intentions for the 2012 Campaign, signaling that the GOP nomination fight could be well underway by the time spring rolls around. The timetable for the primary campaign came into sharper focus this week, amid a flurry of debate announcements and early clashes between Candidates over the Tax Cut plan making its way through Congress. Republicans say the ...

The VERY Wide Open 2012 GOP Presidential Race
Despite the persistent myth that the Republican rank-and-file are all patiently waiting to be told by Great Big Grownups which leader to follow in 2012 (you know, a Great Big Grownup Candidate like Mitch Daniels or Haley Barbour or John Thune) there's remarkably little evidence that conservative Activists, the true rulers of the GOP, are converging behind any particular candidate. For a good indication of the landscape, check out the reader poll recently conducted at the highy influential rig...

Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels Put Off Presidential Announcement Until Spring
ABC News’ Michael Falcone reports: Here are two more clues that the 2012 Presidential Campaign is going to get off to a late start: two potential GOP Candidates acknowledged this week that if they decide to run, they won’t jump in until the spring. “I think the decision has to come at the end of this General Assembly session, if not before. No later than that,” Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels told WANE-TV in Ft. Wayne on Wednesday. (The state’s General Assembly sessio

Barbour, Daniels wait for spring
The timeline is getting a bit clearer, Alex Burns notices: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, two of the biggest question marks of the 2012 cycle, said yesterday that they’ll make up their minds about the Presidential Campaign by sometime this spring. And Daniels gave a newly specific, end-of-April deadline for making his decision, telling WANE-TV that it &ld...;

Daniels will decide on presidential bid before May
Washington (CNN) - Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is setting a deadline for when he must decide whether to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Daniels, a favorite among Republican insiders who respect his fiscally conservative record, said Wednesday that he must figure out his plans by the end of April, when Indiana's legislative session is slated to wrap up. "I think the decision has to come at the end of this General Assembly session, if not before. No later than that," Daniels to...

Gingrich headlining South Carolina GOP dinner
Washington (CNN) - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is returning to South Carolina Thursday to headline the Spartanburg Republican Party's Bronze Elephant Dinner. Gingrich has appeared in the "First-in-the-South" presidential primary state repeatedly in the last year, most recently in October, when he hosted a crowded town hall in Greenville just before Election Day. The potential presidential contender gave an interview to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal ahead of Thursday's trip and spoke warm...

2012: Palin goes 'lamestream,' Mitt's mandate problem
BARBOUR : “At age 63, Gov. Haley Barbour said deciding to run for president means resolving to ‘spend the rest of your productive life doing this.’ The decision won't come for months or without long talks with wife Marsha, the Governor said” in an interview with the Jackson Clarion Ledger. GINGRICH : Newt Gingrich told South Carolinians how important they are ahead of his Speech there tonight before the Spartanburg County Republican Party’s annual Bronze Elephant b...

Nevada GOP sets '12 caucus date
The Nevada Republican Executive Committee voted Wednesday night to hold the party's 2012 presidential Caucus on February 18, a decision that could make GOP voters in the “First in the West” state third in line to vote for their party's next nominee. “This is an important responsibility, because the failed economic policies of President Obama have made Nevada the nation's leader in Unemployment. Nevadans cannot afford four more years of his job-killing agenda in the White Hou...

NJ Republicans spar over Governor Christie's presidential hopes
At times between Labor Day and Election Day, Governor Christie had his name thrown in the conversation over who might challenge President Obama in 2012. Christie is still in his first year as governor and will not be up for Reelection until 2013; a year after the next Presidential Election. Despite trips to California, Iowa, Ohio, Illinois, and Pennsylvania; amongst others; Christie was only there to boost election prospects for Republicans running for office and not boost his national star. The...

Gingrich In Spartanburg For GOP Event
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is returning to South Carolina for an appearance before some of the state's Republicans. Gingrich is slated to headline the Spartanburg County Republican Party's annual Bronze Elephant banquet and Fundraiser on Thursday. Gingrich's name is often mentioned among potential contenders for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination. About one in 10 South Carolina voters surveyed in Exit Polls after the Nov. 2 election picked Gingrich as their favorit...

Poll Watch: PPP (D) 2012 Ohio GOP Primary
PPP (D) 2012 Ohio GOP Primary Sarah Palin 21% (20%) Mike Huckabee 19% (17%) Newt Gingrich 18% (19%) Mitt Romney 15% (14%) Ron Paul 6% Mitch Daniels 5% (3%) Tim Pawlenty 3% (6%) John Thune 2% (0%) Someone else/Undecided 11% (18%) Among Conservatives Sarah Palin 24% ( 21% ) Newt Gingrich 21% ( 21% ) Mike Huckabee 18% (19%) Mitt Romney 14% (13%) Mitch Daniels 4% (2%) Ron Paul 4% Tim Pawlenty 4% (6%)  John Thune 2% (0%) Someone else/Undecided 10% (15%) Among Moderates Mike Huckabee 23

Who will get away with the Omnibus snow job?
Times are most interesting in DC, while the North of the country is cold but dry, while DC is covered in snow. The snow is in the buildings of the legislative branch as much as it outside. You see we have the unbridled farce of Republicans who eagerly put Earmarks into the Omnibus bill to be voted on, saying they will vote against it. Or at least some of them are doing so. Others seem tone deaf and carrying on as if Nov. 2010 was just like any other election. There is a subtle sorting process go...

Poll Watch: PPP (D) 2012 Wisconsin GOP Primary
PPP (D) 2012 Wisconsin GOP Primary Sarah Palin 21% (18%) Mike Huckabee 18% (15%) Mitt Romney 17% (12%) Newt Gingrich 13% (14%) Tim Pawlenty 10% (8%) Ron Paul 4% John Thune 3% (1%) Mitch Daniels 2% (2%) Someone else/Undecided 12% (28%) Among Conservatives Sarah Palin 23% (20%) Mike Huckabee 18% (14%) Mitt Romney 16% (12%) Newt Gingrich 14% (16%) Tim Pawlenty 9% (8%) Ron Paul 4% John Thune 3% (1%) Mitch Daniels 2% (2%) Someone else/Undecided 11% (26%) Among Moderates Mike Huckabee 20% (

Paterson: Paladino Became A Caricature
Gov. David Paterson did not hesitate to take some parting shots at failed Republican/Conservative Gubernatorial Candidate Carl Paladino during yet another pre-departure Radio Interview, saying (more or less) that the Buffalo businessman talked the talk, but couldn’t walk the walk. Paterson said on WSYR 570′s Jim Reith Show that he thought Paladino had been “quite effective” during the primary when he defeated former Rep. Rick Lazio by “invoking the passion that a l...

Nevada GOP Sets 2012 Presidential Caucuses Date
From Politico: "The Nevada Republican Executive Committee voted Wednesday to hold the party's 2012 presidential Caucus on February 18, a decision that could make GOP voters in the "First in the West" state third in line to vote for their party's next nominee." The February 18, 2012 date for the Republican caucuses in the Silver state is aligned with where the Democratic Rules and Bylaws Committee had Nevada slated on their calendar for the Democratic nomination. I'm less surprised by the settin...

Starting Lineup: Start Your Engines
Good Friday morning and welcome to the Starting Lineup. On the radar today: The Iowa GOP sets the date for its presidential Straw Poll and a coinciding debate; Haley Barbour heading to CPAC; a potentially potent "Draft Sarah Palin" group registers with the FEC; Baron Hill passes on the Indiana Governor's race and Jay Nixon lays the groundwork for his 2012 re-election bid in Missouri. A quick scheduling note: The Starting Lineup will be going dark for the holidays starting next Monday. We wish y...

Fox, Iowa GOP announce Aug. debate
Iowa's Republican Party on Thursday said it will partner with Fox News on a GOP presidential debate next year, an announcement that came one day after the South Carolina GOP announced a similar deal with the Cable Network. The first 2012 debate of the Iowa caucuses campaign is scheduled to take place on August 11, just days before the Iowa GOP Straw Poll -- a crucial early benchmark for presidential hopefuls. Both the debate and the Straw Poll will be held at Iowa State University in Ames, I...

CNN, Fox News plan GOP presidential primary debates
With the first party presidential debate of the 2012 cycle already announced, two more GOP presidential debates are in the works to be broadcast on two Cable News networks, according to Media Bistro. Fox News and the South Carolina Republican Party are planning a debate in Greenville on May 5, 2011 (and another in 2012): FOX News and the South Carolina Republican Party have jointly announced that they will present two presidential debates, which are expected to attract the top 2012 Republican co...

Poll: Obama Handily Leads Palin, Romney, Thune
President Obama easily leads three Republican challengers in hypothetical 2012 matchups presented in a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. However, Obama's victory against a generic GOP Candidate falls within the poll's Margin of Error. Only former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney polled reasonably close to Obama in the head-to-head contests. Forty percent of respondents said they would vote for Romney if he were the Republican nominee, versus 47% who said they would vote for Obama. Against Sen. ...

Thune backs tax deal in N.H.
Republican Sen. John Thune used an interview with a New Hampshire Radio Station to hit critics of the deal that extends the Bush-era Tax Cuts — and to praise President Barack Obama. "I give the president credit; I mean, he recognized the need to solve this problem, and he moved to the middle," Thune told Concord Radio Station WKXL on Thursday. "And I think, frankly, if you look at the criticism from his left, I think you recognize that this is a proposal that ended up wit...

Sen. Thune likely headed to N.H. early next year
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told a New Hampshire Radio Station Thursday that he's taking a "hard look" at a run for president in 2012 and that there's "a very good possibility" he'll head to the Granite State early next year.  "We're taking a hard look at it," Thune said of a potential 2012 bid. "It's obviously a very big undertaking but as you know the Granite State figures prominently into anybody who wants to succeed at that task."  In an interview with a Concord Radio Station Thursday morni...

Poll: Obama bests potential GOP challengers in 2012
President Obama beats all Republican challengers tested against him in a series of hypothetical 2012 matchups, a new poll found Wednesday. Obama enjoys leads over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) by varying margins, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday evening.  The president maintains a small lead within the Margin of Error over a generic GOP opponent. Forty-two percent of U.S. adults ...

ABC News and WMUR-TV to Host GOP Presidential Debate
            ABC News and WMUR-TV, ABC’s Hearst-owned affiliate in Manchester, NH, are joining forces once again to host a Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary in 2012.  This debate will be held at a critical moment in the Republican nomination process -- just as the primary season gets underway.  The specific date and time of this debate w...

2012: Palin goes 'lamestream,' Mitt's mandate problem
BARBOUR : “At age 63, Gov. Haley Barbour said deciding to run for president means resolving to ‘spend the rest of your productive life doing this.’ The decision won't come for months or without long talks with wife Marsha, the Governor said” in an interview with the Jackson Clarion Ledger. GINGRICH : Newt Gingrich told South Carolinians how important they are ahead of his Speech there tonight before the Spartanburg County Republican Party’s annual Bronze Elephant b...

Obama Starts 2012 With Six Fewer Electoral Votes
The very useful site 270ToWin.com lets you play out the 2012 Elections with various re-apportionment scenarios. The first thing I notice is that if reapportionment goes as most people expect it to -- if Rust Belt and New England states lose seats, while the Sun Belt gains them -- and Barack Obama won exactly the same states that he won in 2008, he would win 359 Electoral Votes. That's down from the 365 votes he won in 2008. (Both numbers assume that Obama can win the extra electoral vote he won ...